St. John Bosco football secures second straight Trinity League title

After winning the team’s second straight Trinity League title, St. John Bosco had one more goal to achieve before the playoffs: an undefeated regular season

Bosco (10-0, 5-0) got two touchdowns from senior Jaleel Wadood, including a 95-yard kickoff return, and a big second-half effort from junior QB Josh Rosen, to close out the season with a 42-21 win over Servite High School (5-5, 2-3) Friday night.

“[The win] says a lot about our kids. We accomplished a lot last week after winning the [Trinity] league, and we could have easily come in here and not played real hard,” said Bosco coach Jason Negro. “But I was very proud how they came out and finished the season out the right way, undefeated.”

Wadood (eight catches, 63 yards) was the star of the first half, with two touchdowns to keep the Braves ahead. Bosco opened the game with an eight-play, 43-yard touchdown drive, leading to an 8-yard Wadood TD run off a pitch.

Wadood’s second touchdown proved to be the most important.

After struggling in the first quarter, managing no first downs and only 14 total yards, Servite’s managed to find the end zone after Bosco pinned them at the 3-yard line. Junior Travis Waller led a 19-play, 97-yard drive, ending it with a 6-yard scamper to tie the game at 7-7.

While the Friars needed 9:17 of clock to score, Wadood only needed 13 seconds to take back the ensuing kickoff, 95-yards to regain the lead for Bosco.

“It was a big momentum shifter, it really got our juices going,” said Wadood “It was a pretty big play.”

Friday’s win secured the Braves’ second straight undefeated regular season record. Prior to 2012, the last undefeated team came in 1986. That team made it to the CIF championship game, only to lose and finish 12-1.

“It’s historic, and we talk to the kids a lot about it, and they wanted to leave their mark in the Bosco history books,” said Negro. The Braves have gone 24-1 in the past two seasons, including playoffs.

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The top-ranked Braves took over in the second half, with Rosen (17-for-25, 195 yards) running for a 2-yard touchdown and throwing for another. After Brett Baldwin intercepted a deep Waller pass, Rosen led a quick seven-play drive, ending it with a 22-yard TD pass to Angelo Quintero with 3:37 in the third to put Bosco up 28-7.

After a tipped Rosen pass was picked off for a 57-yard pick-six to cut the lead to 21 with 8:44 in the fourth, sophomore running back Sean McGrew (20 carries, 150 yards, 1TD) responded for Bosco in the form of a 63-yard touchdown run off left tackle to essentially snuff out a comeback.